


What we are pt 15

by AXEe



Series: What we are [15]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Astra and Alura need some bonding time, F/F, I actually really liked this episode, Multi, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-06 17:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12215283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Once more unto the breach.   AU of "Supergirl Lives"





	1. Date Night Destroyed

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to Part FIFTEEN of What we are, an AU of "Supergirl Lives". I actually really liked this episode, Kevin Smith made Mon-El actually likeable, which is an impressive feat in an of itself :=), plus he wrapped up part of the whole Roulette arc, and just in general made a fun, exciting episode, not like what most of Season Two was like: brooding and angsty. So, ONWARDS!!!!! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough  
And things go wrong no matter what I do  
Now and then it seems that life it just too much  
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

\--Florence + the Machine: “You’ve Got the Love” (cover of “You Got The Love” by the Source)  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Kara**

I had a date tonight

I say ‘had’ because I’m not that date with my boyfriend. Nope. Why you ask? Well, because some idiots decided to steal a bunch of jewelry at the exact same time. We didn’t even make it to our table, no! Because the second we got through the doors, a burglary alarm went off, somebody fired a gun, and three guys in masks ran out of the jewelry store across the street to a van and sped off.

I could be sitting in a nice restaurant in a nice dress, eating really fancy food with my boyfriend right now, but no! Of course not! Don’t these idiots realize that other people have lives?!!!!

Sorry. Where was I?

Oh right. Jewel thieves

Anyway, I was flying down…I think it was Siegel Street, not sure. Anyway, I could see the van that the thieves were using to get away, this old rattling thing that they probably stole. Suddenly the back doors opened and one of the three thieves leaned out holding what looked like a bazooka or a rocket-launcher, firing it at me. The first missile missed me and just pissed me off, really, the second missile hit me and knocked me off balance.

I bobbed there in the air like a balloon as something suddenly rushed pasted me to land in front of the van and flipped it over like a toy.

In other words, my Aunt Astra was here.

Landing besides the upside-down van, I watched as Aunt Astra—dressed in her Military Guild uniform—pulled the driver out of the van and pinned him against its side

“Hello, little one” she smiled at me. I waved as I frowned, looking at the driver, before I x-rayed the van, finding it empty

“Didn’t…he have friends?” I asked. Aunt Astra frowned

“Here,” she shoved the driver towards me “hold this for a moment,” she suddenly took off down an alleyway. There were two yells, a gunshot, and then she flew back carrying the other two thieves, dropping them next to their buddy, who I was still holding “there we are,” she said “now, if you hurry, I think you’ll be able to make your date”

I grinned “Thanks”


	2. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Kara**

I cringed as I shuffled into the restaurant. It was one of the nicer ones, you know the ones with twenty different forks and snooty French waiters. I straightened my dress as I found James sitting at out table, munching on some breadsticks

He looked up when he saw me “Hey,” he grinned “everything go OK?”

“Yep,” I nodded “three jewel thieves nabbed and in jail”

“That’s good,” he nodded “everything OK with the nabbing?”

“Oh, yeah, Aunt Astra was there, so it went fine,” I explained “sorry I’m late” I apologized

“Its fine” he waved it off

“No, it isn’t,” I insisted “I should be able to make time for things like this, for us”

He put down his menu “Kara, do you think that police officers can make time for date nights?” he asked “or firefighters? Or doctors?”

I sighed “No” I groaned as I realized where he was going

“It’s the same thing with us,” he explained “so, you miss a few dates, or dinner gets cold,” he shrugged “so what? You’re out there doing _good_ , Kara, you’re helping people. And there is _nothing_ wrong with that”

“I ever tell you how much I love you?” I asked

He chuckled “Actually, until just now you’ve never told me you loved me,” I choked on my own spit, even as he took my hand, squeezing “I love you too” he said

I have absolutely no memory of what happened next, all I can remember is just floating away on those three little words…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I looked up as Astra landed on the fire escape

“Jewel thieves?” I asked

“Captured” she nodded

“Kara?”

“Making her way to her date right now, I hope” she answered

I grinned as she settled down on the couch “Good” she chuckled

“Yes, it is,” she agreed “now, we just need to make my sister and Lucy and Winn tell Kara about their relationship and our work will be complete”

I groaned “Good luck with that,” I muttered “I think Alura’s more stubborn than you,” I snuggled up to her, muffling a yawn “after all, she didn’t even say a word to Kara during Medusa”

“Please, don’t mention that word,” Astra shuddered “I still have that rash I think”

I laughed and hit her in the arm “Baby”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

My conversation with Alex the night before had made me realize that I couldn’t just sit by and allow Alura and Lucy and Winn to all just ignore the proverbial elephant in the room. Or rather, to keep Kara from seeing that elephant. Tracking my sister down to Noonan’s, I sat down across from her and, for a moment, I simply stared at her

“What is that on your head?” I finally asked. She glanced up

“Oh, you mean the hat?” she asked

“Is that what it’s called?”

She frowned “You don’t like it? The merchant who sold it to me told me that I could pull it off”

“Now there’s a thought”

She scowled and pulled the hat off “You didn’t come all this way just to insult my choice in headdress” she reasoned

“No, not originally.” I teased. Clearing my throat, I sobered “why haven’t you told Kara about Lucy and Winn yet?” I asked

“I’m merely waiting for the right moment” she huffed

“I see, and when will that be? Doomsday?”

She was about to respond when a woman cautiously stepped up to our table “Excuse me,” she began “but…have you seen my daughter?” she held out a missing person’s flier. The girl was named ‘Isabelle ‘Izzy’ Williams’ and, if the date was correct, she had been missing for three days

“No,” I answered “I’m sorry, I haven’t” I looked over at Alura who shook her head

“Surely law enforcement can help you find her?” she suggested. The woman shook her head

“She’s eighteen years old, not a kid anymore” she explained, she shook, clearly trying not to break down in front of two perfect strangers

“Here,” I stood up and quickly grabbed another chair, easing her down into it “please, tell us what happened?” I requested

“We’d had an argument,” she began “god, I don’t even remember what it was about, and she stormed out. I called her father when she didn’t come home. We’re divorced, you see. But he hadn’t seen her,” she sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a napkin “the police keep telling me not to worry, that maybe she’s just a friend’s house, but, I’ve called all her friends, none of them have seen her”

“Perhaps---” I tried, but she angrily slammed a fist down on the table

“I _know_ that something’s wrong,” she sighed. She looked up at me “do you have children?”

“No,” I shook my head “but my sister does. Trust your instincts, if they’re telling you that something is wrong, then they’re probably right,” I sighed as Alura picked up the flier again

“This may seem terribly forward,” she began “but I have a friend at the FBI, perhaps, she can work around the red tape if I ask?” she suggested

Mrs. Williams face lit up with that, she desperately wanted to believe, no matter how slim the chances may actually be, if there was even a chance “Would you?” she asked, her desperate gaze flitting between us. I knew it was a bad idea, I had no business offering what I mostly like wouldn’t be able to provide, but…seeing that desperate look in her eyes reminded me all too much of my own desperation that I’d felt at Krypton’s end

“We’ll try” I replied…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The alien bar was still sparsely populated as I walked in. Even though Medusa was destroyed almost three months ago, people were still leery of entering ground zero

“Astra!” Maggie waved to get my attention “so, not that I’m complaining,” she began as I sat down opposite her “but, why are you taking an interest in missing persons?”

“It’s not me, it’s my sister,” I replied “she…well, let’s just say that she still feels like she abandoned Kara”

Maggie nodded “Say no more,” she handed me a flash drive “it’s not much, but those are all the missing persons who disappeared in the timeframe you gave me”

“Any connection between them?” I wondered. She shook her head

“None that we could see, they’re all different ages, different backgrounds, some rich, some poor, men, women, black, white. None of them knew each other or even lived or worked in the same neighborhood,” she shrugged as she stood up to leave “maybe your boys can figure it out”

“Maybe,” I agreed “Maggie,” I called out “how are you feeling? Since Medusa, I mean?” 

She shrugged “Not too bad, Susan still fusses over me like a mother hen every time I sneeze, but aside from that I’m good. How about you? I mean you were patient zero”

“I’m much better,” I nodded “thank you”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Winn was wearing sunglasses when I came up to his station at the DEO

“Winn, could you analyze this for me?” I handed him the flash drive “see if there are any connections between the people in this list?”

“Sure, no problem” he beamed at me from behind the dark lenses as he plugged the drive into the computer

“Winn,” I began “why are you wearing those?” I asked “you’re indoors”

“The future’s looking so bright” he replied. I sighed as I reached out and plucked them off his face

“Only if you’re in the 1980s—Winn!” I stared at the large multicolored bruise covering his left eye and part of his cheek

“It’s nothing, OK?” he dismissed, snatching the sunglasses back from me “I got mugged. They took my wallet, but, I’m fine,” he winced “and it hurts to smile”

“Did you report it at least?” I asked

He sighed “I already talked to very nice man from NCPD, who told me that the chances of them catching the guy and getting my wallet back are nonexistent,” he put the glasses back on “just don’t tell Lucy, OK?”

“Don’t tell me what?” Lucy asked as she came over “what is this?” she asked, reaching out and plucking the sunglasses off his face “what the fuck?!” she demanded “Winn! What the hell happened?”

“It’s fine,” he sighed “I got mugged, my wallet’s gone, but I’m fine”

“I’ll kill him,” Lucy snarled “what did he look like? How many were there?” she demanded

“I didn’t see him,” Winn sighed “guy came up from behind me and,” he gestured to his face and made a punching motion “…wham! Next thing I know I’m on the ground and his taking my wallet. Hey, for all I know it could’ve been a ‘she’, to tell you the truth”

“When was this? Where?” Lucy demanded

“Parking garage at my apartment,” he explained “happened last night”

I coughed “As much I’m enjoying this verbal back and forth,” I began “Winn, the information, if you would please?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, sure,” he turned back to the screen “huh, the only thing that any of these people have in common is that they all got a blood draw a few hours before they disappeared, all from the same place”

“And the police didn’t notice this?” I wondered

He shrugged “I guess they didn’t think it was important” he muttered

“Do you have an address?” I asked

“Sure, I’ll text it you,” he tapped a few keys and my phone chirped “there you go. So missing persons, huh? Sounds interesting, can I jo---”

“Oh no you’re not!” Lucy forced him back down in his seat “you and I are going to have a long talk”

Shaking my head, I left them to it as I studied the name and address that Winn had given me…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The website for ‘Bio Dynamic Laboratories’ was rather vague. The only thing that stood out was an offer for money in exchange for a blood draw. Apparently participants would receive five hundred dollars, cash, for undergoing a few ‘simple tests’. And while I wasn’t sure what was going on, it was fairly clear that if Izzy Williams was planning on running away from home she’d need some money. Which is how Alura and I found ourselves in an empty waiting room at Bio Dynamic Laboratories.

It was also how I rediscovered that my sister can’t sit still.

“Will you _stop_ pacing?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down into her seat “Rao you’re worse than a child!” I hissed “here,” I handed her a magazine “read something” I instructed. Fortunately at that moment, the door opened and a man in lab coat emerged

“Well, hello,” he grinned at us “my, my, they told me that we two lovely ladies waiting outside. And twins no less. How wonderful,” his smile never quite reached his eyes I noticed as he shook hands with us “so, what brings you two lovely ladies by?” he asked

“Well,” I began “my sister and are planning to go to Paris, and we saw on your website that you offer cash for some tests?”

“Ah, Paris, lovely,” he sighed “well, of course we can help you with that,” he moved over to the desk and pulled out two clipboards, handing one to each of us “just fill out these and then we’ll start with a blood draw”

Alura and I both froze

“Oh, uh…we, we can’t give blood,” Alura stammered “its…uh, it’s…” she floundered and looked to me for help

“Against our religion” I added quickly

“Right!” Alura nodded “right, exactly!”

I groaned inwardly at how utterly nervous and suspicious she looked and sounded right now. Fortunately, the man in the lab coat either didn’t notice, because after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded and smiled again

“Well, in that case, I think we can forgo the blood sample,” he gestured to the door “this way please” he lead us into the depths of the building, towards the back where we emerged through another door into what looked like a warehouse or loading dock

“So, how did you find about us?” our guide asked

“A friend of ours recommended you,” I replied, taking note of his body language, he looked…nervous “perhaps you might remember her, an Izzy Williams?”

He froze suddenly before turning back to us “Hmm, yes, I believe so, yes, she did come through here a few days ago,” he held up a hand, stopping us “now, if you would stand there,” he gestured to a spot on the floor marked with a large X in masking tape “and….you,” he gently gripped my shoulders and maneuvered me to stand next to Alura “…can stand right there. Perfect!” still smiling far too widely to be sincere, he moved over to large tarp hanging from the far wall, quickly tugging it down to reveal a large metal arch set against the wall

“What is that?” Alura asked as we both examined what was clearly a piece of alien technology, although what kind I had no idea

The man turned back to us “You said you both wanted to travel” he commented as a swirling vortex suddenly filled the arch. Two hands suddenly grabbed my shoulders, clearly intending to force me through the device. Grunting, I easily spun out of the grip and easily knocked their owner across the room. The other man hesitated as he saw his companion sailing through the air, giving Alura time to repeat my efforts with him.

Turning back to the other man, he scowled at us, as his entire head suddenly shimmered and rippled, the holographic disguise flickering away to reveal a reptilian like face. Seeing that he was clearly outmatched, he turned and leapt through the arch, disappearing

“Call Lucy!” Alura instructed as she marched forward towards the arch

“Wait! We don’t know where it leads!” I objected

“Call Lucy!” she repeated as she leapt through the arch. Groaning, I pulled out my phone and frantically texted Alex with address and a request to bring a strike team, then, I leapt through the arch after Alura.

I emerged onto a dusty, rocky barren landscape. Taking stock, I saw Alura being grabbed by two more of the same aliens. Charging I slammed into one of them, wrapping my arm around his neck and breaking his neck with relative ease. The other alien still holding Alura promptly released her and ran

“Are you all right?” I demanded

She nodding shakily “I told you to call Lucy! Not to follow me!”

“Oh, like I’d actually leave you alone in a place like this!” I objected, wincing at the cut on my knuckles

“You’re bleeding” she noted

“Yes,” I sighed “because _that_ ,” I pointed up at the sky “…is a red sun”

“Like Krypton” she realized

I nodded “Exactly, which means that we have no powers here,” I turned back to the portal “now, come on, we need to regroup”

We both froze as the portal suddenly vanished. Scowling, I turned to Alura, each of us vocalizing the same thought

“This is all your fault!!!”


	3. Wanted: Kickass DEO agent Seeks Equally Kickass Kryptonian General for Love and World-saving (Daxamites need not apply)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three! Warning, slight bit of angst at the end here

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air  
I know that I can count of you  
Sometimes I feel like saying “Lord! I just don’t care”  
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

\--Florence + the Machine: “You’ve Got The Love”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I swung my rifle up as the strike team moved through the back of the building. Bio Dynamic Labs was a surprisingly big place. I stamped down the worry I felt as I remembered Astra’s text, which had just been an address and then a ‘Code 459’, an emergency signal used by the DEO to alert other agents, its basically a way of saying _‘need help now, no time to explain’_.

“ _Agent Danvers, any sign of them?_ ” J’onn asked over my comm.

“Nothing yet,” I replied as we nudged a door open. Finding a loading dock and a large metal arch “wait…do you see this?” I asked as I stepped closer to it, adjusting my body cam to get a better angle “what the hell is thing?”

“ _I know what it is_ ” J’onn suddenly growled

“ _Oh boy, I know that tone. That’s a bad news tone_ ” Winn moaned

“J’onn, what is it? What am I looking at here?” I asked

“ _It’s a transmatter portal,_ ” J’onn explained grimly “ _a way of instantly traveling between worlds_ ”

“ _Oh my god, it’s_ Stargate!” Winn exclaimed

“So…wait, are you….telling me that Astra isn’t on Earth anymore?” I demanded as another agent waved me over

“ _I’m afraid it certainly looks that way_ ” J’onn growled as the agent held up a smart phone. Turning it on, I found it was Astra’s phone, her picture file was open, displaying a picture of her and Alura

“J’onn, it’s worse,” I realized “Alura’s with her”

“ _How do you know?_ ”

“Her phone, Astra wouldn’t just leave it lying around like this, especially with her files open. She left it here on purpose as a clue. The only question now is: where are they?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I sighed as I looked around the barren landscape. I had absolutely no clue as to where we were and had told Alura as such when she asked me

“Wait” Alura said suddenly, she dug through her pockets and proudly held up her phone. Without thinking I quickly snatched it from and had already pulled up her contact list and was about to press ‘send’ when I suddenly realized what I was doing, actually smacking myself in the forehead (which, without my powers, hurt significantly) for my stupidity

“I am stuck _light-years_ from Earth, and the _first thing_ I do is try to make a phone call,” I groaned as a horrifying thought suddenly occurred to me “by Rao…I’ve gone _native_ ” I realized with a shudder

“What is that?” Alura asked suddenly. Frowning, I looked up and noticed it, a high-pitched whining sound

“Sounds like an atmospheric shuttle,” I realized “badly maintained…but where is it going?”

Alura pointed “I’m going hazard a guess and say…there” she said nodding towards a tall structure, that although carved to blend in with the rocks surrounding us, was clearly buzzing with actively and was most likely an outpost of some kind. As we watched the same shuttle we’d heard passed overhead to land beyond the structure. Looking back down, I frowned as I saw Alura was already walking away

“Where are you going?!” I demanded

“Izzy Williams is somewhere here on this world,” she began “most likely there”

“No, no,” I shook my head as I sprinted after her “we are not going to Mordor, Alura!” I called out

She stopped, turning to stare at me “I thought you said you didn’t recognize this world?”

I let out a scream of pure frustration, not particularly caring who or what heard me at this point “By Rao! READ A BOOK!!!!” I screamed. To her credit, she’s had to endure my temper tantrums over the years (I was always the more outspoken and vocal out of the two of us) and merely waited until I paused for breath

“Are you through?” she asked mildly

I sighed “More or less,” I glanced back at the alien I’d killed and quickly rooted around his uniform for a weapon of some kind, finding a knife of some kind, it was rough hewn, carved out of what looked like volcanic glass. Still, a knife was a knife. Slipping it into the waistband of my jeans, I stood up and marched over to Alura “let’s go” I sighed, giving the fortress a wary look…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When food is gone you are my daily meal  
When friends are gone I know my savior’s real  
You know it is real

\--Florence + the Machine: “You’ve Got The Love”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Winn, please tell me that you have something?” Kara pleaded

“Yep,” he grinned at us, wincing as he pulled on his bruised cheek “the ion trail leads to….the Arcturas system, the fourth planet to be exact” as a star map appeared on the screen

“Damn it!” J’onn hissed “that’s Maaldoria, the heart of the intergalactic slave trade”

“That’s bad” I realized

“It gets worse” he added grimly

“ _Worse_ than ‘heart of the intergalactic slave trade’?” I asked

He turned to me, his face grim “Arcturas is a _red_ sun” he explained

“So, they won’t have their powers” Kara realized

“Hey, no worries! We got the Martian Manhunter right here!” Winn suddenly grinned, getting up and patting J’onn on the shoulder “he can just go in, get our girls out and have ‘em back before dinner”

“I can’t go on this mission” J’onn interrupted

“Exactly!” Winn nodded “wait—what?”

“The atmosphere of Maaldoria is toxic to Martians,” J’onn explained “some kind of silicate compound. I can’t help them, not out there at least”

“Then what do we do?” Kara asked

“I don’t know” I admitted….  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

We’d been walking for about half an hour by my estimation, and we were already feeling the effects of being powerless

“Wait,” Alura held up a hand as she leaned against a rock with a tired groan “I need to stop, my legs” she winced and rubbed at her knees. I stopped as well, leaning against the canyon wall, the sun was setting, and the wall still held a gentle warmth to it, enough to ease my sore muscles even through Jeremiah Danvers’ lucky jacket and my t-shirt

“You know how they rate things on Earth,” I began, at Alura’s nod I continued “this is a half star, definitely”

She smirked, but then sobered “I never did thank you for saving me back there”

I snorted “Why should you thank me?” I asked “I’m your sister, I’m supposed to look out for you, remember? Mother always told us that”

She nodded “I know, but…after what happened between us,” she began “I wouldn’t think any less of you if you allowed me to die”

I straightened up and stared her “Do you really think that I’m that petty?” I demanded

“I put you in prison, Astra!” she exclaimed, surging to her feet “I put you in Fort Rozz, knowing full well what would happen to you! That the prisoners would…,” she grimaced and looked like she might suddenly vomit “that they would… _use_ you to get revenge on me”

“All right,” I began “since we’re being honest, I just have one question: why? Why did you put me there? Why didn’t you _listen_ to me when I came to you with Non’s findings about the core’s instability?”

“WHY DID YOU KILL PEOPLE???” she suddenly roared. She took a ragged breath “there was _no reason_ to kill that guard. And don’t tell me that you didn’t kill him, you may not have committed the act, but you are just as guilty as Non”

“I did it to save you! To save Kara!” I snarled “to save every one of those blotted, corrupt, narrow-minded old fools on your precious High Council!! Regardless of the fact that they were directly responsible for their own deaths!!”

“ _’Blotted and narrow-minded’_?” she repeated, aghast “the High Council was our unifying force, Astra! The only thing that separated us from the rest of the _barbarians_ that call this galaxy home!”

“Oh yes! Forgive me for insulting the almightily and enlightened High Council!” I spat “have you forgotten that it was people like those on the Council that made us both afraid to go to school every day? That it was those same people who called us ‘freaks’ and ‘defective’? That it was the Council who declared that simply because _I_ was the second-born twin, that I couldn’t have children? That they _sterilized_ me at birth?!”

She stared at me, stunned “ _What?_ ” she whispered

“You didn’t know?” I sneered “the Council decreed that any children I had would be ‘defective’ or ‘irreversibly contaminated’. So, they decided, with our Mothers approval I might add, to sterilize me at birth, altering my DNA to make me naturally infertile. I can _never_ have children, Alura!” I took a ragged breath “they say that you can’t miss what you never had,” I began, I chuckled bitterly “that’s a lie in it's cruelest form”

“Astra, I—” she reached for me, but I pulled away

“Forget it, right now let’s just focus on getting home” I spat as I turned and continued on down the canyon. Not particularly caring if she was following me or not at the moment…


	4. Found: Two Kryptonian Twins in Mint Condition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time after time I think “Oh lord what’s the use?”  
Time after time I think it’s just no good  
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose  
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

\--Florence + the Machine: “You’ve Got The Love”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Is this going to work?” I wondered

“It had better,” J’onn grumbled “Mr. Schott?” he called out. Winn looked from poking at the control panel of the transmatter portal

“OK, so it looks like this thing holds the last set of coordinates in memory,” he explained “so basically all we have to do is hit redial”

“Then do it” I ordered, running a tired hand through my hair

“I hope they’re all right” Kara muttered

“They're strong, they'll be fine" I assured her…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“Don’t you push me!” I snapped, giving Alura a hard shove in return

“Me?! You pushed me first!” she countered, shoving me back. Grunting, I sidestepped and quickly put her in a headlock and then began tickling her. Interestingly her tickle spots are in the same place as Kara’s. Squirming and laughing despite herself she kicked and wriggled in my grip, all the while protesting about how ‘undignified’ she looked

With a grunt, she suddenly hooked her leg at the back of mine and kicked my legs out from under me. With a simultaneous yell we both went tumbling down a short embankment to land in—what I sincerely _hoped_ —was a pool of brackish water.

Surfacing, we both stared at each other as we sat in knee-high water and simply stared at each other. Finally, I started laughing

“Look at us! We must look like a right pair of idiots!” I exclaimed as I pulled myself out of the pool, pulling Alura out with me. Resting on the hard rock, we both took a breath

“I tried to convince the Council about your findings” Alura spoke up

“I know you did” I nodded, and I knew that she would have. Even in the end she never stopped believing in me, no matter how twisted and warped my methods had become

“Even after I sent you to Fort Rozz, I still tried,” she continued “but….they didn’t believe me, in fact many of them accused me of having the same ‘defect’ that you had. Jor-El was the only who believed me, that was why he confided in me about his plan to save Kal-El”

“I always wondered about that” I muttered

She sighed “Even if you had been condemned to Fort Rozz, to a life in hell, I knew that it was still a life, at least,” she admitted, she tentatively reached out and squeezed my hand “I didn’t _want_ to do that, please believe me, sister, but, it was the only way. If I hadn’t the Council would have censored me, and doomed any chance Kara had to escape our fate”

“You did your duty,” I reminded her “I don’t hate you for that,” I shook my head “I was more angered that you didn’t listen to me in the first place”

“It just,” she shook her head “it sounded so… _ludicrous_. All our achievements, our history, our culture, just… _vanishing_ in an instant like that? It couldn’t be possible, how could the Council not have known? Not have seen the signs? And then, when you decided to go through with Myriad,” she shook her head “it didn’t seem _real_ ”

“Myriad was done out of desperation,” I explained “I kept telling my followers that it was all for a good cause that I eventually started to believe my own propaganda, I knew that if we could just put aside out differences, the various Guilds and social strata and work together, we could find a solution and save Krypton. I was _so_ desperate to save you, to save Kara, that I just…fell into an abyss and by the time I’d realized that I’d fallen, I couldn’t find my way out. And as for the Council, they saw all the signs, they just didn’t want to be true, they believed themselves invincible”

She sighed “All my life, I was raised to believe that the Council could do no wrong”

“That’s the problem with governments,” I sighed “they usually made of people just as fallible as those they claim to represent”

“Still,” she sighed “I suppose there is a silver lining to all of this: if Krypton hadn’t perished, you might have never met Alex”

“Small comfort for the death of millions” I remarked

She shook her head “I’ve seen you with her, Astra, I’ve seen how _happy_ you with her, truly happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that happy”

I squeezed her hand tighter “I’ve never been this happy as I am with her” I admitted

She stood up, pulling me up with her “I won’t say that you weren’t wrong in using Myriad,” she began “but…I won’t say that I was right in condemning you to Fort Rozz. We’ve both made mistakes, now we each have a chance to atone for them”

“Yes,” I agreed “we do…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We’d been walking for about an hour Earth-time in relative, but comfortable, silence when Alura spoke up

“What a desolate place this is” she commented

“Yes,” I agreed, idly picking up a rock and throwing it “I used to love going off-world on assignment. Always new places to see, new foods to eat, new people…”

“…new women to sleep with,” she added cheekily “don’t give me that look,” she admonished “I know you, even if prostitution wasn’t strictly legal on that particular world, you’d still find the nearest brothel”

I smirked “That too. But it was always so exciting, even if we were being sent there for a military purpose, I always tried to find time to just… _explore_ ”

She chuckled “I remember, the amount of trinkets and gifts you brought back for Kara could have filled a star liner”

“Can you blame me for wanting to indulge my niece?” I chuckled

She chuckled, but then sobered “Astra, about what you said earlier…about what the Council did to you….I’m sorry, they had no right to do that to you, to anyone”

“It’s all right,” I dismissed “I’ve learned to live with it”

“That doesn’t make it _right_ ” she hissed

“No. No it doesn’t” I agreed

“Why didn’t our Mothers tell me?” she wondered

I shrugged “I don’t know, perhaps they just felt it wasn’t necessary that you know”

We lapsed into silence

“Did you ever go to Prax?” she asked “with the crystal mountains?”

“Oh yes,” I laughed as I recalled “yes, the ones that grown in the evening sun? Yes, I went there once”

“We took Kara there once,” she continued “just the three of us. We stood there as the crystals grew and sang all around us, carrying us up to the peak. And once we got there we found that Zor-El had set up a picnic for us,” she smiled wistfully “I miss those moments”

“I know you do,” I nodded “there are times when I wish I could show Alex all the wonders I’ve seen throughout the galaxy, stellar nurseries, the Crystal Mountains of Prax. Even Krypton. But…I can’t”

“I wish you could,” she said, suddenly stopping “uh, Astra?”

I turned to see her standing there “What? Now you’re not following me?”

She pointed at her leg “I can’t” I followed her finger down to see a large metal hoop or cylinder was now firmly wrapped around her leg, trapping her there

“What?” I quickly got to my knees and examined it, trying to find a release switch of some kind

“Astra?” Alura frantically tapped me on the shoulder. Looking up, I saw a hooded and cloaked figure standing atop the canyon wall, a weapon of some type now being aimed at us…


	5. Wanted: Two Kryptonian Twins Seek Bright Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough  
And things go wrong no matter what I do  
Now and then it seems that life it just too much  
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

\--Florence + the Machine: “You’ve Got the Love”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

After releasing Alura, our captor took us to a small tent of some kind. The interior was small and cluttered, filling with various odds and ends, many of which looked like they had been scavenged from other sources and repurposed, a large metal helmet was currently being used as a pot to boil what I hoped was this fellow’s dinner

“What is that?” Alura asked me quietly, nodding towards the creature being dunked into the steaming pot

“It’s a Thanagarian snare beast,” I replied “and I sincerely hope that we’re not next on the menu”

Our captor—a gray-skinned humanoid—suddenly looked up, looking surprised “Oh, Jo Far not eat carbon forms” he declared in broken English

Alura and I simply stared at him for a moment

“You speak English?” I asked in English

He nodded “Jo Far dissected a Human once” he explained rather proudly

“Of course you did” Alura muttered

“Learned your tongue,” Jo Far continued, he shuddered “ugly! Hideous pink thing!”

“Wait,” I began “you’ve seen Humans before?” I tapped Alura’s arm “the flier,” she nodded and quickly pulled out the missing persons flier for Izzy Williams “have you seen her?” I asked, handing it to our ‘host’. He took it and examined, his eyes widening in what I hoped was surprise

“They brought her through portal,” he explained “with many others. Humans make much money here on Maaldoria”

“Maaldoria?!” we both exclaimed

“Isn’t that…?” Alura began

“Otherwise known as ‘Slavers Moon’,” I nodded grimly “if memory serves the Daxamite royal family used to get their slaves here,” I shook my head in disbelief “they’re using the medical clinic as a front for slavery” I hissed

“Do you know where they take the Humans?” Alura asked

Jo Far nodded “To red fortress,” he pointed out of the tent to the structure we’d been walking towards “they bring many Humans there”

“Can you take us there?” Alura asked

“Oh, Jo Far not go,” he objected “afraid”

“Well, at least someone here has some sense,” I muttered as Alura quickly stood up and marched out of the tent “ _now_ where are you going?!” I demanded as I gave chase

“There are dozens of people trapped there, Astra,” she explained “I’m not going to just sit idly by while they’re sold into slavery”

I grabbed her arm “Izzy Williams is _not_ Kara!” I exclaimed “you don’t have to try and rescue her just to feel good about your past. You gave Kara a chance to live. That’s all anyone of us can do” I explained

“Are you done?” she asked

“Yes”

“Good. Then let’s go”

“Please tell me that you at least have a plan as to how we’re going to just walk in there?” I pleaded

“Of course…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Move, Kryptonians!” a guard grunted in fractured Kryptonese as we were shoved down a long corridor, finally being lead to a large cell where we could see there were at least a dozen people—Humans—inside.

One of the guards opened cell, a transparent barrier shimmering as it opened, before roughly shoving us both inside, closing the cell without a word

I turned to Alura “Any _more_ bright ideas?” I drawled

“Well, well,” a familiar voice suddenly drawled “the twins, in my cage again”

Alura and I turned, staring at the newcomer

“Roulette?” Alura hissed as Veronica Sinclair, better known as ‘Roulette’, approached the cell’s barrier

“We really must stop meeting like this” she commented…


	6. For Sale: Two Kryptonains in Slightly Used Condition, Contact Roulette for Price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Chapter six! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough  
And things go wrong no matter what I do  
Now and then it seems that life is just too much  
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

\--Florence + the Machine: “You’ve Got The Love”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Here,” J’onn held out an egg-shaped device to me “we only had time to make one of these. So make it count” he instructed

“Will do,” I nodded as I tucked it away in my vest “Winn?” I called out

“Yeah, OK, I got it all set up,” he held up his tablet “just point and click” he explained

“Good. You’re coming with us” I nodded

“Wait, what?” he squeaked “oh, no, see, I’m just better off right here, in case anything goes wrong”

“In case anything goes wrong on the other side we’re going to need your help getting back home” I reminded him

“Yeah, but…”

“Agent Danvers wasn’t _asking_ , agent Schott,” J’onn rumbled “you’re going with them, that’s an order”

He stared at me, looking pale. Feeling bad for him, I led him over to a corner for some relative privacy

“I can’t do this, Alex!” he hissed “I mean I can’t even stop from getting mugged,” he gestured to the bruise on his face “I’m going to screw up over there, OK? I just…I can’t!”

“Hey,” I gripped his arm to steady him “you think that I wasn’t scared the first time I went out into the field? Dude, I was terrified. And from Astra tells me she actually wet herself during her first time in combat. You’re not the only who’s scared right now, Winn, we are all. But you can’t let your fear control you”

“Yeah, but what if…” I held up a hand

“Focus on bringing them home” I reminded him

He took a shuddering breath and then nodded “OK”

I nodded “OK” I grinned…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I stared at Roulette for a moment before finally speaking

“So, I see you’ve stooped to an even newer low” I commented

She smirked “It’s good money, and these aliens are willing to pay handsomely for good, hardworking stock like you folks in there”

“Blood money you mean” Alura countered

“Blood diamonds, actually,” Roulette held up her arm, dozens of uncut diamonds and other gems glinting and glittering on her skin “they’re like sand to these Maaldorians, utterly worthless. After you shut down my fight club, I needed a new source of income. Imagine my surprise when one of my fighters told me about this place”

“Exploiting aliens I can understand,” I began “as reprehensible as that is. But your own people? Other Humans?”

“Now see, what you see as ‘exploitation’, I see as ‘evolution’,” she replied “I’ve taken human trafficking and elevated it to a newer, more profitable end. All of these people are healthy, prime specimens. They’ll work hard, endure whatever hardships they’ll encounter, and there are plenty more where they came from”

“You’re insane” I shook my head in disgust

She smirked and shrugged as the same disguised Maaldorian came over to her, still in his disguise as a human. Roulette nodded at him in silent answer “If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I have a business deal to work out” she nodded at us and then, without a word, turned on he heel and marched off

Now alone, I turned back and looked around the cell. Most of the other prisoners were huddled against the walls by themselves, apparently no one was willing to trust each other with Roulette running this whole operation. But, one figure suddenly caught my attention, a young girl huddled in the far corner

“Excuse me,” I cautiously approached her “are you Izzy Williams?” I asked

She looked up at me, startled “You, you know me?” she asked

I pulled out the flier and held out to her “I met your mother,” I explained “my sister and I were trying to find you when we ended up here”

“Is she OK?” Izzy asked

“She’s worried about you” Alura replied

“Wait, you’re the Dark Angel” someone said suddenly, staring at me, as I recalled my new alter ego courtesy of Cat Grant, who had decided that ‘superwoman’ wasn’t a good enough name for me. I made a mental note to dangle her off a building whenever I saw her next

I nodded “Yes” I answered

“Then you can get us out!” Izzy exclaimed frantically “you can just, just knock the walls down!”

“I’m sorry,” I sighed “I don’t have my powers here,” I could see the disappointment in their eyes, the way they promptly lost all hope “but we will get out of here,” I vowed “that I can promise you”

“Psst!” I looked at Alura

“Did you just…?” she grabbed my arm and pulled me over

“We don’t have our powers,” she reminded me “nor do we have anyway of contacting help, and _now_ you’re the optimistic one?”

“Hope is better than nothing” I reminded her as Roulette and the same disguised Maaldorian came up to the cell

“Congratulations Terrans,” he chirped cheerfully “you’ve all been sold” he explained as two Maaldorian guards came over, both flanking a single Dominator

"I hate these people" I muttered…


	7. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I took a breath as we exited the transmatter portal onto a barren, rocky landscape. It was night; two moons hung low in the cloudless sky

“Outer space,” Winn hissed excitedly to my left “I’m in outer space!”

“If you don’t want to stay in outer space, you’ll start working on a way of turning that thing back on” I reminded him as the portal shut behind us

“Agent Danvers?” I turned as an agent waved me over to the very dead alien on the ground just a few feet away from the portal “footprints leading away from the body, ma’am,” she added, pointing “do you think it could be our missing people?” she wondered

“Let’s hope so,” I nodded “Winn? I want that thing turned back on when we gat back”

“Wait, you’re just leaving me here?” he asked, he gestured to the dead body “with _that?_ ” he added

“You’ll be fine!” I called out as I hurried after the strike team

“I’m not the redshirt, Alex!” he called out after me “I’m not!”

_’I hope you’re not’_ I thought…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“Move, Kryptonians!” the Maaldorian ordered as Alura and I held our ground, both of us refusing to move “you’re not part of this sale” he added

“We’re not?” Alura echoed will false surprise “oh, dear, and here I thought we’d fetch a fair price”

Her sarcasm was lost on him (although Roulette smirked) “No, you two are being sold later today,” he explained “in fact there’s something of a bidding war going on for you two. It seems many of our customers want you both. Of course we’ll have to double the price” I inwardly shivered as I thought about who would want to buy the two of us. We’d both made our share of enemies over the years

“We’ll just stay here” I quipped

He sighed and nodded to the two guards “Make them move,” he ordered. The two guards swiftly entered, their weapons at the ready, the ends crackling with electricity as they hit us each with them. The painful jolt sent us both to our knees, but we held firm “again!” the Maaldorian ordered. I took Alura’s hand, squeezing tightly as we were shocked again, forced to the floor

“Come on!” Izzy suddenly bellowed from behind us, the other prisoners suddenly surged forward like a human wave, swiftly overpowering the two guards. There were only two guards, not counting the two flanking the Dominator—both of whom had left with their charge as soon as we were shocked—but there were a dozen or so scared and angry Humans.

Some of them clearly knew how to fight, hitting the guards with kicks and punches. But most were just relying on surprise and numerical superiority, using that to swiftly overpower the guards

“Get their guns!” someone ordered as a pair of hands swiftly helped Alura and I up

“Here, come on” Izzy said as she helped us to our feet

“Thank you,” I panted out “you could’ve been killed” I pointed out

She shrugged “You were willing to die to for us,” she pointed out “we figured it was time we saved you”

“What do we do with them?” someone asked, he nodded to Roulette and her Maaldorian minion

“Him, put inside with the others,” I ordered, I grabbed Roulette’s arm “you, you’re coming with us!” I snarled as I locked the cell...  


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

The footprints went past an opening in the rocks that lead right to the front door of a tall fortress. Clearly, Astra and Alura had gone around instead of through

But we didn’t have time to try and find another way in.

Blowing the doors open was surprisingly easy. Dealing with guards? Not so much.

I fired off a shot just before one of the guards knocked my gun out of my hand. Grappling with him, I was grateful to find that he wasn’t much stronger than a Human. Wriggling my hand free, I managed to pull his weapon free from its holster, firing it. A bright blue, golf ball-sized bolt of light shot from the end and hit him square in the chest, knocking him back at least three feet. There was no recoil, no kickback, just a simple discharge.

I stared at the alien gun in my hands

“Oh, I got dibs”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“You’re not going to make it out of this place alive,” Roulette taunted as our ragtag party hurried down the corridor, alarms screaming up above “the Maaldorians won’t just let their merchandise walk out the fron—” she grunted as Alura soundly punched her across the jaw, knocking her out

“Must we bring _that_ with us?” she asked as she shook out her hand

“Bargaining chip,” I replied “plus, she deserves to stand trial,” I reminded her just a blast of blue plasma suddenly sizzled down the corridor “back! Back!” I ordered. I quickly grabbed one of the stolen rifles and took aim, taking out two of the guards “go! I’ll be right behind you!” I ordered as I edged back down the corridor…

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Ma’am? Kryptonian lifesigns, dead ahead” an agent reported, holding out a scanner to me

“All right! Let’s go!” I ordered as we fought through more guards…  


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“Astra! Come on!” Alura yelled as I hurried down the corridor after them. A blast of plasma sizzled over my head. Turning, I dropped to one knee and fired, taking out on guard before the other managed to hit me in the arm, causing me to lose my grip on the weapon.

The Maaldorian approached me, weapon at the ready as I winced and cradled my injured arm

“ _Wait,_ ” the Dominator suddenly emerged from a side corridor. It reached out and it put its hand on the guard’s arm “ _not her. The daughters of In-ze are not to be harmed_ ” it instructed. Turning to me, it bowed, almost respectfully

“Astra!” Alura called out. Not wanting to question my good fortune, I hurriedly climbed to my feet and sprinted after her, almost colliding with her as I rounded the next corner “are you all right?” she gripped my shoulders, pulling back as I hissed as she applied pressure to my injured arm “your arm!”

“I’m fine,” I dismissed “did we lose anyone?”

“No, no one” she answered shakily as an explosion rocked the area ahead of us

“Wait,” I took a step forward “that’s gunfire!” I realized

“Why would Maaldorians be using guns?” Alura questioned as another explosion went off ahead of us, followed by a familiar voice

“Move! Move!” Alex’s voice ordered

“ _That’s_ why!” I snarled “come on! This way!” I ordered as we sprinted down the corridor, skidding to a stop as we almost collided with Alex and a DEO strike team “whoa! Whoa! We come in peace!” I yelled as the smoke cleared

Alex let out a breathless laugh as she pulled me into a firm embrace. Pulling back she took note of the carnage behind us “Your handiwork?”

“Partly,” I acknowledged “Alura helped”

Alex chuckled “Of course. What is it with you two? You can’t go anywhere without starting a fight?”

A groan from Roulette made her turn “Oh of course, _now_ it makes sense,” she scowled “come on, let’s go!” she ordered “our ride’s waiting” she explained as we all charged out into the cool Malldorian night air

“How did you get the portal open again?” I wondered as I sprinted alongside her

“Winn helped” she replied

“Winn?” Alura asked “please tell me that you didn’t bring him here?” she pleaded as we rounded a series of rocks to see the open portal, Winn waving at us from in front of it, an unconscious Maaldorian at his feet

“Of course you brought him. This whole farce wouldn’t be complete otherwise” I muttered as Alex began ushering people through the portal

“Come on! Let’s go! Winn! Hurry,” she ordered, stopping and gaping as a large ship suddenly flew past the cliffs to orbit overhead “that is a…really big ship”

“Uh-oh,” I muttered as a scream suddenly pierced the air. Turing I saw Izzy—who had lagged behind—suddenly being grabbed by one of the guards and dragged away “Alura! Wait!” I called as Alura sprinted after her

“Wait,” Alex pulled an egg-shaped device out of her vest, twisting it “let’s hope this works” she muttered, drawing her arm back and hurling it towards Alura. There was a blinding golden flash and as my eyes cleared, I stared as Alura suddenly bobbed in the air like a balloon, a golden glow suffusing her skin

I turned to Alex “What…was that?” I asked

She grinned “ _That_ , was a yellow sun grenade,” she explained proudly “a little gift from Earth”

I turned back to Alura “Alura! The ship! Hit it on the left flank!” I called out. She turned and fired off a blast of heat vision, the blast cutting across the ship’s left flank. Now on fire, it veered off, streaking past us to crash just beyond the mountains. I felt a bit of pride well up in me as Alura fired off a second blast of heat vision at the feet of the stunned Maaldorian holding Izzy. He quickly jumped back and released her.

Dropping to the ground, Alura grabbed Izzy’s arm and they both sprinted back towards us

“Astra! We’d better hurry!” Alex pointed back at the fortress, reinforcements were already arriving

“Come on!” I grabbed Alura’s shoulder and all but threw her and Izzy through, leaving only myself, Alex, and Winn behind. With a roar a Maaldorian suddenly leapt up at us from behind a pile of rocks, but before any of us could react a plasma bolt sizzled through the air, striking him in back and killing him.

We all stared as Jo Far suddenly, calmly, approached us, a stolen Maaldorian rifle slung over his shoulder

“Jo Far help carbon forms,” he said, looking between us expectantly “carbon forms help Jo Far get off planet forever?”

“Yes, yes! Carbon forms agree!” Alex frantically waved a hand towards the portal “just…get in there!” she yelled as we all, Jo Far included, leapt through

“Is that everyone?!” I asked as I emerged on the other side, back in the loading dock at Bio Dynamic Labs

“Yes” Alura called out

“Good” I quickly grabbed Alex’s rifle and aimed it at the control panel, firing it at. Sparks shot out of it as the portal flicked and died

“We made it!” someone called out as the room suddenly burst into cheers

“Hey!” I turned, grinning as Kara suddenly swept me up into a hug “I’m glad you’re OK” she grinned as she pulled back

“I’m glad to be back,” I replied. I looked up at J’onn “so, a yellow sunlight grenade?” I asked

He chuckled “Well, I figured since Supergirl and I couldn’t be there in person, we thought we’d send along a care package,” he explained, pulling me into a firm, one-armed hug “glad to see you and your sister are in one piece” he said

“We all are” Lucy agreed as Alura slid up between her and Winn. I glanced at Alex, who just smirked and shook her head

“We’re also glad that you brought us a gift,” J’onn continued as a group of agents swiftly restrained Roulette “Ms. Sinclair, on behalf of the United States government, allow me to say, you’re under arrest”

She scowled and visibly seethed as she was handcuffed and led away. A sniffing sound suddenly caught my attention. Turning, I found Jo Far looking around, sniffing the air as the other prisoners simply stared at him.

He turned to me

“Earth…smell funny,” he noted “always smell like this?”

“Well…” I began, only for Alex to clap a hand over my mouth

“Not. One. Word” she growled out…


	8. Wanted: Kara Danvers Seeks New Eyes After Hearing Shocking News About Her Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks, the final chapter! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

Izzy took a breath as Alura and I led her through the doors of Noonan’s. Her mother standing up as she saw her, rushing towards her and pulling her into a firm embrace, both of them quietly sobbing out apologies. Pulling back, Ms. Williams looked up at us, a mix of shock, awe, and gratitude on her face

“ _Thank you,_ ” she whispered tearfully “ _thank you_ ”

“Of course” Alura replied softly with a gentle nod. Leaving mother and daughter to their reunion, we quietly slipped out the door, disappearing into the crowd….  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sighing, I settled down onto the couch, smirking at the image of Alex trying—and failing—to not fall asleep in a nearby chair

“Alex”

“Huh?” her head snapped up “I’m awake! I’m awake!”

I smirked and sat up, patting the cushion “Come here,” I invited. Smirking, she quickly got up and sat down besides me, resting her head against my shoulder “there,” I quickly draped the throw from the back of the couch over us both “better?” 

“Hmm,” she mumbled sleepily “you really scared me back there” she said

“I know,” I replied quietly, gently pressing a kiss to the top of her head “but I’m here now,” I gently eased her legs up onto the couch so that she was laying in my lap “go to sleep, love” I told her. She shifted, mumbling, and then, yawning widely, finally fell asleep.

A knock at the door startled me. X-raying through it, I found Alura waiting in the other side. Risking glace at Alex, I _gently_ eased out from under her, taking care not to wake her, and quietly opened the door, quietly ushering Alura in. She frowned as she saw Alex asleep on the couch

[Oh, I can come back later] she offered in Kryptonese

I shook my head [No, its fine, she needs the rest,] I gestured to the kitchen [what brings you by, sister?] I asked as I opened the refrigerator and offered her a drink, she shook her head and seemed to ruminate on her words as I opened the litter bottle of ginger ale and took a generous swig for myself

“Earlier,” she began in English “on Maaldoria…we said…some…things that I feel we need to discuss”

I nodded “All right…” I agreed slowly

“I…want you to know,” she began “that, had there been any other way, I would have found it. Sentencing you to Fort Rozz was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and, as strange as it may sound, I did out of love for you. I knew that if you were right, by being in Fort Rozz—as horrific as it may have been—you would at least have a chance to live”

I continued sipping my ginger ale for a long moment as I considered my response “I can understand that,” I began “I truly can. Krypton’s end drove us all—you, me, Jor-El—to do desperate things out of love and fear. But…what I will never understand is why did you use Kara to have me arrested? She was a _child_ , Alura, she had no idea what the ramifications of what you were asking were”

Alura stared at me “Is that what you think?” she demanded “that I would be so cold as to use my own child as a lure?” she shook her head “I never told Kara to signal you with her spy beacon. I will admit that, yes, I…took advantage of the opportunity it presented, but…I never intended to arrest you that day, I was hoping to convince you to stop, to come home”

“If that’s true,” I began “then who told her to signal me?”

She shook her head “I don’t know. Perhaps I did and just don’t remember, perhaps Zor-El did, perhaps she did it on her own. I truly don’t know”

Looking at her then, I could see the honestly in her eyes, if she was the one who had asked Kara to signal me that day then she truly didn’t remember, and I suspected that I would never truly know, just as I would never truly know why she went through my sentencing when any other judge could have done the job just as well, she may have done it out of a sense of duty, she may have done it out of sense of betrayal, she may done it in a bizarre, desperate attempt to use Fort Rozz as a life boat of sorts.

I would most likely never know

And I was fine with that. Because, after years of grief and anguish, I finally had my sister back, I found a family again. My niece, my sister, and my dear, darling Alex. I had friends in the form of J’onn, Winn, Lucy, and even James. Together, we would stand firm and united in the face of whatever adversity the universe threw at us

The motto of the House of El is _El Maya_ , meaning _’stronger together’_. But the motto of the House of In-ze is _uldif zehdh_ , meaning _’family forever’_. And with those two phrases as our rallying cry, there was nothing we couldn’t face.

The door suddenly burst open, a frantic Kara rushing in

“Kara?! What the fuck?!” Alex exclaimed, bolting up, ready to fight whatever threat just disturbed her sleep

“Kara?” Alura and I moved forward. Kara stared at us, eyes wide, her mouth worked but no sound came out, she looked from me to Alura, finally focusing on Alura

“You…Winn,” she croaked out “Lucy?!!” she exclaimed, eyes wide

“Uh-oh” Alex muttered as Kara seemed to get her bearings back

“ _ **MOM!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?**_ ” she exclaimed 

"KARA!!" we all rushed forwards as her eyes suddenly rolled into the back of her head and she actually _fainted_ dead away

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that she knows about you and Lucy and Winn" I muttered at Alura

"I think so" she agreed

"Kara? Cone on, Kara," Alex patted her cheek "come on, wake up …"

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-Da! And that's all folks! The final chapter of Part Fifteen of What we are!!! Thanks to everyone who commented and I hope you'll all stay with me for Part Sixteen _and_ for the What we are/Strange Visitor crossover "What we are (is a pair of Strange Visitors)"
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> \--AXEe :=)


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